Mind Games
by ChaiiTea
Summary: In a big unfamiliar city, seeking out the truth of an event that occurred 5 years ago, and meeting the various people who cross her path; what is a young girl to do in this situation? Izaya x oc x Shizuo
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Durarara!**_

**A/N:**

**Hi! This story is... A re-make of an old one that I typed up and even posted on this site a while back. I feel bad for deleting it but I really wanted to start over and rewrite everything so that the story would make more sense rather than just a huge mess of whatever it was haha XD **

**I also switched onto this account since it was my very first one even though I rarely used it before... Now for those of you who decide to read this and find it familiar, then you may have read my old version before; _Questionable Lies_, and hopefully this version will be much, much better. I changed character names and the order of events that are to happen; a few things will be similar, and there will be a few new things as well.**

**I created a different deviantart account made specifically for doodles from my stories and character sheets so you can stalk me on there as well if you'd like.**

**(link in profile)**

**Enjoy~**

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**Chp. 1**

_Defenseless_

_It took a while but I made it._

The sound of a bell was the signal of our arrival; some people began to mumble as they woke up, and others had already started to make their way off the bus. A voice on the speakers informed everyone of where the bus had stopped and I could feel my heart rate increase slightly.

_I'm finally here_.

It was only nine in the morning, almost ten; I had left around three or four so that I could leave peacefully… It was a six hour drive after all, and now all I had to do was find the hotel that I had contacted the day before so I could drop off my stuff before exploring the area.

Where am I at? You might be wondering. I am in Tokyo, Ikebukuro to be exact.

After watching the bus leave, I looked around at the tall buildings around me, feeling like a small grain of rice among tall boxes filled with even more rice. When I was home, all I could think of was getting here but now I felt like all my plans had just dissolved into a childish game of hide and seek. I was the one seeking in this game.

I began to walk in the direction of the hotel I had planned on staying at for however long. After my time was up there; when I ran out of money, I will have hopefully found what I was looking for and wouldn't need to stay any longer… Hopefully.

If that doesn't happen…Well, I hadn't thought of that just yet and I really don't want to. As far as I know, finding the truth shouldn't be hard at all. I was going to find the truth and prove them wrong; prove that I wasn't just imagining things and that I wasn't as useless as everyone thought I was.

My friend encouraged my plans; she convinced me to make this trip and it was thanks to her that I was able to lie to my parents in order to save enough money for the bus ticket and the hotel. I was tempted to ask my friend if I could stay with her during my time here, but I decided that it would be best if I didn't… We never really actually met before so it would've been kind of odd.

[I made it. I am in Tokyo now!]

I sent her the text as soon as I caught sight of the hotel. My friend also lives in this area, she didn't specify where but she knew a lot about this place so I assumed that she lived in Ikebukuro somewhere. In fact, she was the one who told me which hotel to go to and which bus station would be the cheapest; she was a big help to me so I really wanted to meet her and thank her… Again, that would be a little odd. I was mainly waiting for her to ask if we could meet that way she wouldn't think that I was some creepy man who sought out young girls to take to hotel rooms and so on…

I shook those thoughts out of my head when I entered the hotel and approached the front desk to retrieve my room key. I put it in my jacket pocket before continuing my way to the elevator; I didn't have much with me, just one suitcase and myself.

A small jingle caught my attention and I pulled out my phone to see that my friend had messaged me back.

[Great! Will you be too busy? I really would like to meet you! ^_^]

I stared at her message for a moment and my vision began to blur as my mind began to wonder. _Meet? I know that I wanted to thank her but how? How?_ I began to think of getting her a gift or something… _I've never really given anyone a gift before… Well, not any friends, only family._ Usually my parents would tell me how to deal with these types of situations, but they weren't here. I was by myself.

This was my first time being alone in a place where I knew no one. I couldn't just walk into a building and know that there would be a person who would help me if I needed it. Back at home, there was always someone around, there was always someone watching me everywhere I went. I wasn't sure why, but after that accident, I was never really _alone_.

The sound of a ding filled the air and my vision became clear so I watched as the elevator doors opened to a hallway. I closed my phone and immediately walked out but bumped into someone during the process. I glanced at the person briefly, only noticing their dark hair and odd fur-trimmed jacket.

"I'm sorry." I spoke quickly and averted my gaze to avoid eye contact as well as look out for any other people who might be around so I wouldn't run into them also.

The young man only smiled, "It's quite alright."

I didn't even bother looking back at him before making my way toward my room number, dismissing the event that had just occurred. I guess you could say that I wasn't a very social person and that I didn't get out often… This was why I was still thinking about what to do in order to thank my friend for her advice and help… _What should I do? What should I get for her?_

I stopped in front of my room and took out my phone again to look at the message again.

[Where would you want to meet at? I don't know this place as well as you.]

I let out a long breath when the message was sent and I stared at the phone's screen for a moment before closing it. I needed to at least put my stuff away before heading out anywhere again. I reached into my jacket pocket to retrieve the key but it wasn't there. My stomach dropped as I looked around the floor and continued to dig through all of my pockets desperately. _How did I lose the key already?_

I set my suitcase next to the door and started to retrace my steps to the elevator. It was nowhere around here… I walked over to the elevator and pressed the button repeatedly and waited for the ding. When it finally sounded, I motioned to step inside but stopped when I saw a figure in my way.

"Looking for something?" Said the figure.

My eyes focused on the object being held in front of my face and I reached for it but it was pulled away before I could grab it.

"You dropped it when you bumped into me."

I looked passed the key and at the young man who I had indeed bumped into only a few minutes earlier. "Yes. I'm sorry." I put my hand down and waited for him to give me the key.

"No need to apologize again." He laughed softly, "in fact, you should just at least say thank you." He had stepped forward and leaned against the elevator door so that it wouldn't close between us.

I frowned slightly but pushed away the feeling of embarrassment that he was making me feel from telling me what to do. "Thanks." I muttered and grabbed the room key when he held it out for me.

The young man watched me for a moment then tilted his head slightly, "Not a problem."

I turned and began to walk back towards my room before the heat had completely consumed my face from that embarrassing moment. As soon as I reached my room, though, I began to visualize the meeting with my friend; if I acted anything like that then she would definitely think that I was a complete weirdo! This was no good. I sighed and entered the room, not even paying any attention to the details; my mind was focused on the possible meeting. _I still needed to get a gift!_

Again, I heard the jingle of my phone and I quickly flipped it open to see her reply after setting my suitcase by the bed.

[How about… Outside your room?]

I blinked and swallowed dryly then let out a breathy laugh. She must be joking.

[ Haha when? Lol ]

I shook my head slightly and looked around the room but couldn't even begin to examine everything before my phone jingled yet again. I flipped it open.

[Right now.]

My heart felt like it had skipped a beat, and before I knew it I was already typing up a reply.

[You must be joking right?]

As soon as I closed my phone, there was a knock at the door and I whipped around quickly and stared at it intensely. This felt like a horror movie… Only it wasn't night time... All the other conditions were right though; me being a girl all alone in a hotel, in a city that was completely unfamiliar to me… I scoffed at my thoughts and approached the door bravely at first, but hesitated when I reached for the knob. Slowly, I twisted it and opened the door, peeking through the small opening seeing no one.

"I'm not joking."

A face suddenly appeared in the opening of the door and I jumped back in surprise, not realizing anything until the door was pushed open wider. It was that guy again.

"W-what?" I managed to say.

The young man entered the room, hands in his jacket pockets, piercing mahogany eyes scanning the area as he walked towards me. "I said: I'm not joking."

I stared at the guy and watched his hand when he pulled something from his pocket; a phone. He opened the device and held it in front of my face so that I could read what was on the screen.

[I made it. I'm in Tokyo now!]

[Great! Will you be too busy? I really would like to meet you! ^_^]

[Where would you want to meet at? I don't know this place as well as you.]

[How about… Outside your room?]

[ Haha when? Lol ]

[Right now.]

[You're joking right?]

I stared at the messages then looked at the young man's grinning face. "W-why do you have Kanra's phone?"

He closed the phone in his hand and put it back in his pocket before bending his slender body forward so that we were eye level. "I am Kanra~" He stood straight and laughed softly while looking down at me with judgmental eyes. "You would think that parents these days would teach their children about the dangers of online strangers." He sighed softly, "I bet you couldn't even guess how many people I have gotten to come here to this city with my very own words. I'll give you a hint; a lot." He spoke with a bragging tone.

I watched as the young man walked around, circling me while he continued to speak.

"When I found you, though, I knew that it would be easy." He took a lock of my hair and let it slip though his fingers as he continued to circle me like a shark. "A young girl desperate to leave her family in order to find out some secret that involved this place; at first I wasn't going to even try because of how easy it seemed… But now, I'm glad, I really am." He stopped in front of me, "what do you think your parents are going to do when they realize that you're gone?"

I knew that he was staring right at my eyes, but my gaze was settled on the floor. I had been tricked and now I was being lectured? I could feel a small smolder of annoyance begin to burn in the pit of my stomach.

"What are you thinking right now? Hm?" He grabbed hold of my face and lifted it so that I would look him in the eyes. "What are you willing to do to get out of this situation?"

I still wouldn't meet his gaze; my mind was too busy to really pay much attention to his words. I did feel stupid for being tricked into making the trip, but honestly I was still thankful for getting the motivation to come here. If it wasn't for Kanra; I mean, this guy… I would still be at home doing nothing while people watched me and told me that I was only being delusional. I was just glad to be out of that place and at least be somewhere I could be my own person for once.

The guy's grip tightened as if he were demanding my attention. "Well?" The grin on his face looked more like a bad attempt to cover up his own aggravation.

"I wanted to say thank you. Again." I looked him in the eyes, "for convincing me to come here. I couldn't have done it without you." I blinked and watched as his expression dropped. "I don't understand why you had to pretend to be a girl; I would've accepted you as a boy. I just wanted to get here." Maybe I was taking this situation lightly…? After speaking, I began to wonder what his plan was; now that he got me here, would something bad happen?

The guy let go of my face and began to smile again then laughed harder than he did before. _Did I say something funny?_

"You!" He continued to laugh, "You are definitely a strange one." He stopped laughing abruptly and leaned forward again. "Tell me, do you not value your life?"

I shrugged slightly, not really sure why he was asking such strange questions and looked away from his eyes again, they were a bit intimidating. "I value knowledge I guess." Since learning information was the main reason I was here, that answer seemed reasonable.

"So you don't care that you were tricked by me? You're not scared that I'm not the person that you thought I was?" He tilted his head slightly.

"I'm surprised, but I don't know your intentions. Why did you trick me?" I looked at him again and raised a brow.

The guy scoffed and stood up straight, "Honestly, I was planning on drugging you, then locking you up in a metal briefcase to ship you off to a warehouse so I could get paid, since young girls are favored these days but… I at least expected more of a fight from you." Wearing a bored expression, he took out his phone and began texting for a moment. "Seeing how you don't care makes this too easy so I've lost interest." He closed his phone and looked at me again as if he were examining me for the first time. "How do you expect to get anything done if you don't know this place at all?" He looked serious for once.

For a moment there, while he was explaining his true intentions, I had begun to panic internally; that was something you didn't hear everyday… For a second I wasn't sure if I should've taken him seriously or maybe I should've already been out the door… But when he practically admitted to giving up on that plan, I decided to remain calm. I just thought that he acted like a girl so that he could persuade me easily to come here, which worked, but I really didn't know his real plans until now… I really thought that I was meeting a girl… Instead I met a guy who looked to be in his early twenties who seemed to be a complete trouble maker with an odd taste in clothing style…

"Honestly," I sort of mimicked his tone. "I was hoping that you would help me." I admitted, "But now I'm sure that you really don't want to since you… Lost interest..." _And besides, you're not even the person I thought was my friend, so there would be no point for me to even expect any help from you…_ I wanted to add, but decided to keep that last bit to myself.

He stared at me for a moment then he grinned yet again, "I like you… And I will help you since its information that you need after all."

For a short moment I was stuck on the first part of what he said, and then on the part of him agreeing to help hit me by surprise. "Really?" I looked up at him, "how are you going to help me?"

He looked at me with a slightly bewildered expression when I responded with a hint of excitement. "Let's just say that information is my specialty." He replied, "But before you start asking anymore questions, it would be best to move this information exchange to my office."

"Alright, where is your office?"

"In Shinjuku, so if you really would like my help, then I suggest that you follow me." He began to walk toward the door but stopped and looked back at me. "What are you doing?"

I looked at him when he asked that question; my hand was on the handle of my suitcase and I was getting ready to follow him. "I'm going to follow you." Not intending for that to sound as creepy as it did.

"With your bag."

I blinked then looked at my bag, then back at him. "I might not be able to walk back if it's too late at night." Recalling the last time I had to walk in the dark, by myself; it was before the accident when I wasn't always being watched… I would follow my brother around everywhere but I had gotten lost that day and ended up walking home alone at night. I had never been so scared in my life. "Shinjuku is an hour long walk so I'll find a different hotel if I have to."

The young man just smiled and chuckled softly before shrugging his shoulders dramatically, "As you wish." Then walked out of the room so I followed.

When we exited the hotel and began walking down the sidewalk, I was growing curious. "What's your real name?" I decided to ask.

The guy kept his eyes forward and just smiled. "Orihara Izaya," He looked over at me while holding up his index finger, "but you can all me Izaya-chan."

I only stared at him then looked forward; this guy really did act like a girl… Or maybe he played this Kanra character for too long and he couldn't act like a normal guy anymore…

"I just didn't want to call you Kanra." And now that I had time to actually think about it, I was kind of angry about it. I had been friends with Kanra for almost a year now but this day seemed to have ruined our friendship. It was all a lie. Even if our friendship was only based off of texts and talking online through chats, I still thought of her as my only friend… But now I learned that Kanra really doesn't exist. Instead, he's some guy who sought out young girls to trick them… Then apparently he drugged them; put them in briefcases, and sold them to other people for good money… But hey, at least he was willing to help me.

"How about you? What's your name?"

"Koizumi Méline." Eyeing him suspiciously as he gave a weirded expression.

"Hm." Was his response.

"What?" I stared at him, wondering what kind of reply that was.

"You have a strange name." He replied and before I could respond; "I'll call you Mel-chan~" A smile formed on his face and he wrapped and arm around my shoulders. "You're in good hands Mel-chan, since I know everything about this city." He let out a breath and closed his eyes as he inhaled the air. "My city."

I only watched his odd behavior and wiggled myself out from under his arm but decided not to ask why he considered this place as his own. I assumed it was because of the fact that he _did_ know this city inside and out; he claimed to be a girl for over a year after all and who knows how many other times before, so… I was sure that he was a little messed up in the head. No doubt.

It felt like more than an hour to get to his _office_; when he pointed out the building, I could see that it was really an apartment building… A very expensive looking one. I looked at Izaya for a moment as we walked a few more feet to reach the entrance; he didn't look rich… He wore a very strange fur-trimmed jacket and black clothing. If anyone took a gander at him, they would definitely think of him as some middle-class guy who tried to buy a decent looking jacket for winter or something.

Once we reached his room, I looked around as he opened the door for me with one arm stretched outward as if to guide me in the right direction.

"Welcome to my _office_." He chimed before closing the door.

"Your office and your apartment..." I muttered and stood awkwardly before looking over at Izaya when he walked passed me and over to a desk in front of a large window that took up most of the wall.

It was a nice looking place; outside the window was a great view of the city, then there were book filled shelves on the other wall with an oddly shaped table in front of it and what looked like another floor above; there looked to be more books and another table up there. To my left were some couches surrounding a coffee table; I turned around to see the staircase that lead up to the second floor, and below that was an open doorway to what looked to be the kitchen.

I turned back around to face the desk but then looked over at the large window, feeling the urge to look outside so I walked over to it and placed a hand on the cold glass. I examined the moving people below; they looked like grains of rice; moving grains of rice trying to find the boxes where they belonged. My eyes then looked around at the boxes, the buildings, around this one; they all seemed to look the same.

"Fascinating, isn't it?"

I only blinked in response then turned to look at him, hand still on the glass. "How long have you lived here?"

"Ever since I was a kid," His elbows were rested on the arms of his chair and one hand held the other as he spun around slowly. "This place never bores me, which is why I am still here even after all these wonderful years."

I looked back out of the window but then quickly dismissed my thoughts as they began to wonder how I would learn this place as well as him. "So where were you five years ago?" I walked over to his desk and tilted my head to look at his computer screen but it immediately turned black when he pressed a key on the keyboard.

"I was attending Raira academy." He replied; keeping his eyes focused on my face as I continued to examine the things on his desk. "Why?" He moved himself in my line of sight to get my attention.

"The information I seek is from that time period." I replied and looked at the couches; they looked very comfortable… I was so very tired; I didn't even sleep a wink on the bus ride here and I hadn't stopped moving since I got off the bus.

"What does this information involve?"

I walked over to the couches and stepped down the small step while continuing to examine the area. That was a pretty neat design; a single step and a change of floor color from grey to mahogany; I was used to simple rooms that didn't involve such fancy details.

When I sat down on one of the couches, I leaned my head back to let my body relax into the couch that felt like a cloud to me. "I want to find out who killed my brother, Léon." I replied before closing my eyes.

"A death from five years ago?" Izaya scoffed, "Do you know how many people die here every day?" He began to spin in his chair yet again but thought about my words for a moment. "And trying to learn about this after so many years seems kind of useless, don't you think?" He stopped spinning and rested his elbows on the desk when I didn't reply. "Nē." He looked at me for a moment then narrowed his eyes when he noticed the fact I was sleeping.

_She fell asleep_; while talking to him and this only made him feel slightly annoyed yet curious. This girl really was _defenseless_.

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**I'm not going to go over all the things that I changed, but I feel like this version will be much more organized than the old one. **

**I hope you guys liked it! Please review and let me know your thoughts and opinions! :'D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**

**Thanks for the reviews~ I really do enjoy hearing what people are most curious about when it comes to the events that my occur in this story. :'D So keep them coming please!**

**Also, thanks for the follows and favorites~ Do know that I intend to update monthly; it's a good pace to go that way I don't feel too rushed. ;D**

**Enjoy!~**

**Oh, and as for the cover picture of this story, you may see a larger version of it on my deviantart, link on my profile. 3**

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**Chp. 2**

_Partners_

_Who killed Nīsan?_

-Click –

"…"

"… About time you got here…"

" Who is…?"

"Hm…?"

"Your new victim?"

"None of your concern…."

"How long do you plan on keeping-?"

"For as long as I want..."

"-Just proves how lonely you are without any friends."

"Say, how is your brother doing with his girlfriend? I hear that- Oh good morning Mel-chan~!"

I sat up from a couch that was unfamiliar to me; I looked around the room and began to recall where I was exactly. Next thing I looked at was the lady wearing a green turtleneck sweater standing next to Izaya's desk; her arms were folded over her chest.

"Just sign the paper already." She spoke in a harsh tone.

"Of course," Izaya replied while scribbling on a paper, "But don't worry Namie-chan, I haven't replaced you yet, so don't be sad." He gave her childish grin as he handed her the paper.

The lady, Namie-chan, grabbed the paper then looked back at me for a brief moment; her eyes were cold and looked angry, before making her way to the exit.

"See you~" Izaya waved after her then looked at me once the door closed. "Sleep well?"

I looked down at my body, seeing that I was still dressed in the same clothing as yesterday, but my shoes weren't on my feet anymore. My eyes returned to Izaya's smiling face and I placed my feet on the floor so I could stand. "What time is it?" Not wanting to think about where my shoes went just yet.

Izaya sighed and looked over at his computer and began to type. "Around five in the morning," He replied, eyes fixed on the screen, "you slept for quite a long time." He didn't even try to hide his bored expression.

I rubbed my eyes and walked over to his desk, "Who was that lady?"

Izaya gave a fake laugh, "that _lady_ is known as Namie, she's my secretary." He lifted a hand over his mouth and yawned.

"You didn't sleep?"

"No." Izaya sighed, "I was here researching a few things."

"It's bad to sit in one place for too long."

Izaya looked over at me; a large grin formed on his face, "Aww is Mel-chan concerned for my health?"

"No." I huffed and changed my stance so that it looked like I was focused on the computer now, "what were you researching?" To change the subject of course.

Izaya caught the hint of what I was doing, and decided to let the change happen. "A few things and your deceased brother," He looked at the screen and pulled up a window, "It says that he died in a car crash and that his body was cremated as requested by his family." Izaya leaned the side of his head against his hand as he scrolled down with the other. "Koizumi Léon, age seventeen, died in a devastating car crash on the day of November twenty-sixth, nine pm during a heavy rain-storm. Blah, blah, blah, when paramedics arrived, they insisted that he died on impact. The other driver was also killed." Izaya looked at me again, "He was killed in a car crash." He looked completely uninterested.

I shook my head, "no he wasn't." I pressed on, "He was involved with bad people; that was a cover-up so that the people responsible wouldn't get caught." My brows were furrowed with frustration. "He told our family that he moved here to get a better education but I overheard him talking to his friends on the phone about starting a gang."

Izaya only stared at me as I continued.

"He also attended Raira Academy." I held Izaya's gaze.

"Koizumi Léon doesn't ring a bell." He didn't even sound convincing.

I crossed my arms, "I thought you knew everything about this city, which would also mean the people." I looked passed the young man and out of the window seeing all the lights from the buildings contrast with the dark morning sky. "You're wasting my time." I concluded and turned to retrieve my bag which was set by the couch.

Izaya let out a laugh as he watched me search the floor for my shoes, "Are you planning on leaving?"

I ignored his question, "Where are my shoes?" My eyes scanned the floor and I finally caught sight of one under the coffee table and the other next to one of the couches. I could feel Izaya's stare as I started to put my shoes on; knowing that he was mocking me even without having to say a single word. "Thanks for letting me stay the night." I decided to speak in order to break the tension that I was feeling.

"What are you going to do hm?" Was his reply.

I looked over at him as I stood, knowing that he knew something, but he wasn't going to tell me anything… "I'm going to look for _better_ information… Maybe from other gang members if I can find them." I let my gaze wander over to the door and I grasped the handle of my suitcase. "I mean, if anyone knows about past gang-related activities, the _best_ people to go to are those who may have been involved hm?" I made my way over to the door and didn't bother looking back at the odd man. I knew that my idea sounded stupid, and indeed it was very stupid and dangerous but it was necessary… I heard Izaya get up from his chair and I felt a victorious smile creep over my lips. Was he so full of pride that merely suggesting that someone else's' information was better than his would make him react in such a way? I hoped so.

I halted when his hand pressed against the door above my head and he hovered over me. "You aren't serious." He spoke as if he had truly called my bluff, but I looked up at him with the best poker face I could conjure.

"You think that I see all of this as a big joke?" Letting an offended tone coat my words.

"You really think you can just walk around these streets and go up to a gang member to ask a few of your silly questions without any trouble?" He sounded as if he were making fun of my made-up plan, which was fine.

I looked up at his hand and frowned slightly, "What else am I supposed to do?" _It was working. _"You're not going to help me, so who else will?" I looked at his smiling face and tried not to grimace at the sight; seeing someone in need of help somehow amused this man in a sickening way.

For a moment I thought he was going to say something useful, but instead he pushed himself away and he slowly walked back over to his desk, "Looks like you are on your own with that one, Mel-chan." He fell into his chair and let it spin slowly.

I felt a wave of disappointment come over my body as the realization hit me; _he did call my bluff._ "I suppose you're right." I stood there and watched him for a moment before deciding to give in. He won this round. "I need your help." I could feel my dignity just drain away when those words came out of my mouth and Izaya stopped spinning in his chair to look at me.

"You don't say!" In the most sarcastic way possible, he rolled his eyes to the side as if giving some serious thought to my plea. "I don't know if I even have the time…" His eyes landed back on me, "what are you willing to do in exchange for my assistance?"

I frowned, considering possible bribes, but nothing seemed suitable enough to satisfy this man. "What would you suggest?"

"Considering that I do get paid for my services…Money is an option…" He began to tap his fingers against each other. "But we both know that you do not have much money, which brings me to this; if you were _actually_ planning on leaving, let's say that you _did_ find someone else to get information from, they _will_ want money or they would just direct you back to me since I am the best there is after all." He stood and turned to face the window. "But again, we both know that you do not have much money and therefore I will propose a deal."

I kept my eyes on him; I could feel my mind reeling with the decisions that I would have to make if I were truly planning on ditching Izaya to find another source for information.

Leave now, find someone else, give up my money, and find out the possible truth? What if the person I find only gets me as far as the news articles and expects me to pay? If I leave now and not find anyone, I'll end up spending my money on more hotels and I wouldn't be able to get back home nor would I have any answers. If I stick with Izaya then I might have a better chance but… What does he expect me to do?

My eyes were fixed on Izaya's face now; he had turned to face me as if he were watching my thoughts like a movie playing in my head. "What do you propose?"

"It's simple really; you do something for me, I do something for you. Like a partnership; that's fair, right?"

"Depends on what you want me to do." I replied while narrowing my eyes, "My requests are simple questions and information, so in return your requests need to be just as simple."

"Woah now Mel-chan, you're not the one calling the shots here." He stepped towards me, the unsettling smile on his face yet again. "You're the one more in need of my services than I am of yours." He stopped when he was about a foot in front of me, "You will do as I ask, and in the meantime I'll let you know what you want to know." He paused for a moment and snapped his fingers, "in fact, if I find someone who knows a lot, I'll let you go to them yourself to hear any new information with your very own ears. How does that sound?"

I bit my lip, feeling as if I had no other decent option to choose the imaginary list of equally good proposes to consider. "That sounds… Fine, but I don't want to be sent to random places by myself." I replied and crossed my arms, "Well, any place that involves learning things about my brother… It could be dangerous… I mean you said so yourself that I was too weak to do anything when it comes to fighting off enemies."

Izaya laughed and tapped the side of my face softly, "no worries Mel-chan, you really think that I would send you somewhere dangerous?" He then wrapped an arm around my shoulder and led me over to the window. "But if you insist, I'll go with you if I'm not too busy…" He then pointed downwards at the people below, "for all we know, one of those people right below us could be your brother's murderer." He squeezed my shoulder, "isn't it exciting?"

I swallowed dryly but also stared down at the movements below; he was right about that, it could be anyone, even one of the many people who pass by this building every day. Someone in the city had my brother's blood on their hands and now that I felt closer to finding out whom, I was starting to care less about the terms and conditions of this proposal that Izaya had made for me.

"I'll accept you proposal."

Izaya looked down at me then used his other hand to turn my body around so that we faced each other. "Then it is a deal." He took my hand in one of his and shook it once, "We are partners now."

As we held each others' gaze, another question popped into my head now that the decision was made. "How long do you suppose it will take?" I let go of his hand and watched as he looked back out of the window.

"Days, months, who knows?"

I folded my arms again and also looked out of the window, "Well that's not helpful."

"Old details that you are asking for is going to take a while to dig up."

"I'm aware."

Izaya looked at me with knowing eyes, "You want a place to stay." Speaking like he was telling me what I wanted, "You are a very needy girl, Mel-chan."

I kept my eyes on the buildings, "I didn't even ask."

"You didn't need to." He scoffed.

I cast a glance his way, not wanting to, but I decided that I might as well just do it. Most of my pride was gone anyway from asking for help, so I may as well just throw the rest of it in the hands of this man. "So can I?"

Izaya's sudden laughter caught me by surprise and I looked at him not really sure how I could decipher this sort of reaction. At least he wasn't staring back at me with a look of disdain; instead he laughed, which still made me feel silly for even asking.

Once he had calmed down, he finally replied. "You are so predictable it's pathetic." He was very blunt and rude. There was no question behind the attitude Namie had while she was around him.

My brows furrowed, but despite his crude response, I gave a small grin. "I'll take that as a _yes_ then." Turning on my heel, I nonchalantly strolled over to the couch and sat down before kicking off my shoes. My sit didn't last long though, I stood up again and grabbed by suitcase and unzipped it before looking at the beaming man still standing by the window. "Say, where's your bathroom? I could use a shower."

Izaya strode across the room and stopped next to the couch, sporting a cat-like grin until he leaned against it, pinching his nose with one hand. "Indeed you could." Giving a scowl as if to exaggerate my imaginary stench I was giving off, "It's through there and to the right." He pointed me in the direction of the kitchen. "After you're done, be a doll and clean up whatever dirt you get in there."

I snatched some toiletries and a new set of clothes from my suitcase before attempting vivacious smile, "I'll be happy to." Then made way to my destination, feeling his stare follow me until I entered the kitchen.

When I finally found the bathroom, I closed the door and flipped on the light only to examine the room quickly before turning my attention to my own reflection. I wasn't from this country, if it wasn't obvious enough from my pale skin, and light blue colored eyes. The only qualities about me that seemed more common here was my small stature, and dark brown wavy tresses that reached the small of my back. Usually, I would put my hair up, only leaving my bangs down and to the side; I didn't have much time to do that before I left for this city, so now it will be a pain to brush all the tangles that formed from how much I moved around during the trip.

After the shower, I tied up my hair and dressed in the fresh clothes that were best for this time of the year; it was November, and soon it would be the sixth anniversary of my brother's death. Since Tokyo was farther north than my home town, I knew that it would be colder here during this time; I could even feel it when I had arrived.

When I found my way back to the front room, Izaya was putting on his fur-trimmed jacket. "Going somewhere?"

He only gave me a glance before grabbing his phone from the desk and flipped it open. "How observant of you."

I frowned for a moment before snatching my shoes and pulled them on quickly before grabbing my own jacket off the couch.

A quaint expression crossed Izaya's face when he saw me buttoning up my jacket, but instead of a smart-ass comment as expected, he just gave a suspicious smile and walked toward the door so I followed suit.

"So where are we going?" I decided to ask as the door closed behind me.

"You'll see."

I didn't even bother to push the subject; instead I kept my mind occupied by looking around the hallway as we walked, watching all the doors as we passed them. "Do you ever talk to your neighbors?"

"Nah. They bore me."

Our first stop was a small café down the street; Izaya ordered some food and insisted that I should eat since I would need the energy for the amount of walking he was planning on doing today. I didn't argue with him; the smell inside the building had my stomach growling thanks to my careless ability to forget about the necessary consumption of food. I hadn't eaten since… The night before last?

As we ate, I noticed how he didn't eat much of his food and instead drank the coffee which was served black; I guessed that he didn't like the sweetness of the muffins he had ordered because I had only seen him take one bite. What a waste.

The café back home served similar foods, only they tasted better there because they were fresh and homemade rather than whatever this was. Precooked? I wasn't really sure. The older lady there would often give me free pastries after my brother died, she felt sorry for me obviously.

"-Don't you think Mel-chan?"

I looked at Izaya; had he been talking this whole time? I stared at him for a moment watching how his smile disappeared and he looked annoyed. "Huh?" Maybe I should have just responded with a yes or no, that way he would stop giving me that scary look. "I-I mean yeah." I looked down at my food and began picking at it with a fork in order to avoid his gaze.

The sound of Izaya standing made me look to see what he was doing; he set some bills on the table and gave a closed-eye type smile. "Let's go Mel-chan~"

I slid out of the booth and stood up getting ready to follow after him but stopped to look at the people for a moment. There were a few girls in a nearby booth watching Izaya, whispering hastily, while across the room there were two men who didn't take their eyes off of him and they looked really angry… The atmosphere felt tense in here.

"C'mon Mel-chan~" Izaya called from the door so I trotted after him feeling everyone's eyes like daggers in my back as I exited the building.

"People were staring at you in there." I informed once I caught up to him; he had already begun walking down the street, swinging his arms as he did so.

Izaya only laughed, "Well I've always been told to have good looks."

I felt the corner of my lip twitch. _Is that so?_ I wondered then frowned, "They weren't looking at you that way." He didn't reply so I decided to drop the subject and instead looked up at the buildings as we continued to walk.

Back at home, there weren't any tall buildings like this, nor were there so many people out during this time in the morning; the only people who woke up this early were the fishermen and shop keepers. I would often wake up early as well and sit down by the beach to watch the sunrise; no one knew that I did this, it was actually one of the few times I could be alone even though I wasn't far from the house or anyone I knew. There was a time when I was found sitting on the beach by my step-father; he was so angry at me and I didn't even know why, nor did I even know why I was drenched in salty water with mud under my fingernails either.

"So, what are you planning to do after we find the person responsible for killing your brother?" Izaya looked down at me; I was sitting on a bench because my feet were in pain from all that walking. We were in a park with a water fountain in the center and the amount of people around had increased as the sun climbed higher in the sky; it was warmer out but there was still a cold breeze that sent chills through my body from time to time.

"I'm still debating." I replied, "I'm upset about what that person has done to my family and my brother… But also I want to let others know that I wasn't wrong; that person should go to jail for their crime." I was sure that my reply was reasonable, but the way Izaya laughed made me feel like there was something wrong with my two options.

"If taking the one responsible to the police wasn't possible, what would you do to them then?" Izaya hadn't stopped moving since we had arrived. He was pacing back and forth then spun on his heel to face me.

"Why wouldn't the authorities be an option?" I questioned.

Izaya shrugged, his hands were in his jacket pockets, "well the case is almost six years old, and it's closed after all… They might not even believe your claims since all the evidence has been most likely washed away and locked up."

I considered his response for a moment then looked off at the water spewing up in the air from the fountain. "I guess… I would seek vengeance." I then met his gaze.

"Oh?" He positioned himself so that he was standing in front of me and he placed his hands on my shoulders. "Now how would you go about doing that, hm?"

I shrugged, "how do you think I should do it?" I then quickly added; "not saying that I will do it." Averting my gaze so that I wouldn't have to feel intimidated by his merciless stare.

Izaya stood up straight and gave the expression that looked like he was actually thinking about a good way to ensure that his answer was a good one. "If you seek vengeance through death, then I suggest, especially for you, a gun." He took a step back and pressed index fingers to thumbs as if to be picturing me in a frame made by his hands. "Since you're so small and weak, I'm sure that you wouldn't be able to take the enemy down with just your bare hands or even with a blade of some sort." He sighed happily and put his hands down. "Unless you have some hidden ability to fight that I don't know about… Yet."

I watched him as he had spoken, "But that's only if the police aren't willing to do anything…"

"I'm pretty sure they won't even consider your theories." He placed his hands back into his pockets and turned around to start walking again, "I mean, your parents didn't even believe you so…" He looked over his shoulder to look at my blank expression. "I guess we will just have to wait and see."

I watched Izaya's walking figure so I stood and followed, not bothering to catch up just yet. He knows this place better than I did anyway, so of course he would know if the cops would be willing to help or not when the time arrived… My gaze dropped to the ground to watch my own feet take steps; so maybe I would just have to take this into my own hands but… If I did manage to find the killer, and kill them, how would I be able to prove that I was right all along? Would I even be able to pull the trigger on someone? I began to feel frustrated by this whole thing, but I didn't want to give up. Not yet.

I stopped moving when I felt a hand on top of my head; Izaya patted me a bit roughly, "If you over think about this, you might just end up quitting." If not for the unpleasant smile on his face, and taunting voice, it would have seemed like he was reassuring me of my doubts.

"I'm not going to give up on this." I replied quickly, "even if it boils down to having to… _Kill someone_." I said that last part quietly.

Izaya laughed and ruffled my bangs, "You can be quite interesting..." He then began to walk backwards; "_Sometimes~_" He pointed at me as if his hand were a gun then brought it back up towards his face.

_Interesting?_ I only followed after him while fixing my bangs and caught up quickly so that I wouldn't lose him in the slowly disappearing crowds of people as they passed by or crossed the street. I was glad that he had stopped walking for a moment, "You know what? You're not too-" But before I could finish speaking, I noticed how his eyes glanced to the side and a wide smile played on his lips.

The next thing I knew, Izaya pushed me out of his way and stepped in my place as I fell to the ground; a loud crash sounded shortly after. I opened my eyes, about to protest against his reasons for pushing me to the ground but stopped when I saw a large mess of metal and broken sidewalk right where he was just standing.

"I-Z-A-Y-A-KUUUN!"

A loud voice thundered just a few meters down the sidewalk but I couldn't take my eyes off of the object that was crushed into the ground. I felt like a boulder that was super-glued to the sidewalk, and I could barely move my head to look at the person who had yelled Izaya's name. I watched the man approach, hands balled into fists, a bartender type outfit, messy blonde hair, and a very, very angry expression on his face behind a pair of bluish-purple shades.

"Oh Shizu-chan, it has been a while~" Izaya seemed happy to see this man as if it were some sort of joke.

The blonde guy, Shizu-chan, stomped his way toward Izaya. "I told you not to show your face around here flea!" Everything about this man began to scare me, but nothing about his attitude could match up with what he did next. He wrapped his hands around a nearby street sign; the metal pole crumbled beneath his grip and he pulled it from the sidewalk as if it was just a flower being plucked from the soft dirt.

At that very moment when my eyes witnessed this event, I felt my body get up on its own and my heart rate accelerated like never before. My instincts were screaming at me to get out of there, and that's what I planned on doing… But I didn't want to leave the only person willing to help me here.

I looked over at Izaya, "W-we should go…" I then looked over at the angry man, seeing how his shades had slid further down his nose so that is eyes were perfectly visible and looking straight at me. When our eyes met, I felt my heart plummet down into the pit of my stomach and there was nothing holding me back from running the other direction any longer.

I was _gone_.

All I could think about was the fact that I did not want that man throwing stuff at me, or looking at me like that ever again at all whatsoever! I turned a few corners and even ran across a few streets before slowing down and leaned forward slightly, letting out heavy breaths from the horror filled run I just ran. After a few seconds, I looked over my shoulder only to see clouds of dust and loud crashes about half a mile back. I then looked forward to see that innocent bystanders had stopped walking to also watch the commotion back there. Most of them seemed unsurprised by the event which seemed completely unusual to me.

Suddenly a hand grabbed my wrist and I was being pulled into a full on sprint again. I looked up at the person pulling me; it was Izaya, who had somehow managed to escape the wrath of that street sign wielding monster back there. He pulled me around more corners and across more streets; he weaved me through crowds of unsuspecting people before we came to a stop in front of an alleyway.

Before I could even try to say anything, Izaya pulled me into the small alley and pushed me against the wall while pressing himself to the other.

"Ow!" I felt the clip holding my hair break when my head hit the wall; I reached to grab it, but the plastic piece of crap crumbled and fell apart in my hand, leaving my hair to fall over my shoulders. "Who was that guy?" I whispered through heavy breaths.

"No one important." Izaya replied quietly, also breathing a bit heavy.

"That doesn't make sense." I breathed and looked toward the exit completely confused; _what just happened?_

"Shhh." Izaya hushed me and I wanted to give him a glare but it was too dark to see that stupid smile that was always plastered on his face. I held my tongue and closed my eyes, trying to calm my breaths while my mind continued to race.

I just couldn't understand why that man tried to attack us randomly and how in the world he had managed to pull that street sign out of solid concrete like that! As scared as I was during that moment, and even now, I began to wonder how any of that was even possible. Despite the fear I felt, I also began to feel amazed by it. That was certainly the power of superman that this Shizu-chan possessed! The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to ask questions about it but I kept my mouth shut for now. It was obvious that Izaya wasn't going to tell me much about that man and that I needed to be quiet for the sake of staying hidden.

I let the noises of the city fill in the silence between us while I continued to think about what had just happened. The only thing I concluded was the fact that the super strength filled man obviously had a problem with Izaya and that this wouldn't be the only time that something like this would happen.

After a good five minutes or so, my eyes opened, completely adjusted to the darkness and I could see Izaya move toward to exit. So, assuming that it was safe, I decided to speak as I followed. "I'm starting to think that you're not a good person to be around." I said while looking at Izaya; my breathing finally began to calm.

The grinning man laughed and looked back at me. "You're just now beginning to feel that way?"

"Why did that guy attack you?" I decided to ask.

Izaya looked off into the crowd, still grinning like a mad man. "I don't know." He replied playfully, "We've always hated each other from the start."

I watched him then sighed, that was all he was going to tell me from that subject. "Then how was he able to do what he did?" I wrapped my hands around my loose hair and pulled it over one shoulder to ensure that it wouldn't become tangled.

"Well, it's some sort of superhuman strength that he was born with," He moved one hand to the rhythm of his words, "I never really ask for the details though… You ask too many unnecessary questions…We should be heading back now." He beckoned me to follow.

I stayed still, "Didn't you have other things to do here though?"

Izaya was walking and didn't even look back at me and he sighed impatiently, "Shizu-chan will be storming around the city for a while, so unless you want to meet him again, I suggest that we go somewhere safe. At least until tomorrow, he shouldn't be looking for _me_ by then."

That comment was more than enough to send me after him, but as I followed, I could feel my feet throbbing, and I noticed that all this action had little to no affect on Izaya as far as being sore or tired. Seeing how calmly he dealt with Shizu-chan, he was probably used to dodging flying objects and running around the city away from that man in order to avoid being killed.

Once we had arrived back to the apartment, I couldn't help but become curious yet again; not about Shizu-chan or why there was so much hate between them, but the sight of the room had me thinking about our proposal. It wasn't clarified, so I began to wonder what was expected of me here.

For a moment when I walked inside the room, I was going to ask for an explanation but for some reason I felt like I didn't want to know… There was something off about the way Izaya was looking at me after he had walked over to his desk and fell into his chair as if he were about to tell me something. Again, I stood awkwardly in the room and returned his gaze. Who was going to speak first? I could feel the pressure of his stare beat me down to the point of looking away and my feet took me to the couch so I could sit on its arm. The weight off my feet felt heavenly.

"What?" I looked at him again and began playing with my hair, seeing how he didn't remove his eyes from my face.

"I was thinking…"

I leaned back and looked at the ceiling and faked a gasp, "Oh no."

"You were going to say something before Shizu-chan _rudely_ interrupted."

"Oh?"

I didn't bother to look over at him as I tried to recall the moment before I entered "_fearing for my life_"mode. I frowned a bit as I remembered; it had to do with telling this impolite man that he wasn't always that bad of a person after figuring that the word interesting was a compliment in his mental dictionary. Considering the way he treated me after Shizu-chan interrupted us, I decided that saying what I was going to was something that Izaya did not deserve.

"I don't remember." I lied before standing and traipsed my way out of the room.

* * *

**Not too much to say about this chapter; it was fun though, I love writing Shizzy's parts, but yeah, his time in this chapter was short haha! XD But scary enough to make Mel-chan fear for her life~ But hey, how would you react if some man like Shizuo threw large things toward you and pulled street signs from the ground huh?**

**Any who, thanks for reading! Remember to review and let me know what you're thinking! **

**Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

**Sorry for the kinda late update! I had finals, and my friend's birthday was right after, so I had to draw her a picture~**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chp. 3**

_Gentle Eyes_

_I couldn't sleep well last night._

Maybe it was because of all the sleep I had earlier, or because I was too anxious to let myself relax enough to pass time with dreams; I probably had a few minutes here and there of short naps. It wasn't until sunlight had begun to show itself that I decided to get up instead of lay there any longer. Izaya wasn't around so I walked over to his chair and sat down to watch the city.

What made Léon want to come here? What was so special about this city? I could remember the day he left like it were yesterday; I couldn't stop crying like a baby as he boarded the bus and waved to us from the window as it drove away. He was only here for about a year and had already gotten himself killed… This made me wonder just how long I would last here. That thought then lead to who would be the lucky person. If I were to be killed here, who would do it? Or who would be the cause? Izaya? I frowned to myself, I had yet to understand that man completely but there was still the possibility.

What was the point of this partnership anyway? What way would I be useful to Izaya? My parents could never find anything for me to do for them, so how would this be any different? I began to imagine my attempts to do what was expected of me, only to piss Izaya off which would result in him not wanting me around anymore… I frowned at the thought and declared to myself that I would try my best in whatever mission I was sent on, for the sake of staying around long enough to get what I've come here for!

I got up once the still city life began to get boring and I looked around the room then up at the stairs… I hadn't explored that area yet, and that's where Izaya had gone sometime last night so I assumed that his room was up there.

I went up the stairs, quietly, and looked around seeing only two other doors along the hallway and of course the balcony with the living room area down below. I tip-toed my way to the first door to the left, seeing that it was open so I took a peek only to see that it was filled with more books and things that were uninteresting to me. I moved on; the door at the end of the hallway was calling my name, it was barely cracked open so I snuck over to look. As I leaned in to take the peek, a ringing noise came from inside the room and I jumped back. It was his phone going off, which meant that he would wake up, so I needed to get back downstairs.

Quickly, and as quietly as possible, I went back downstairs and dove onto the couch then jerked the blanket over me. Several seconds later, I could hear movement upstairs, and then the sound of feet descending the stairs slowly followed by a yawn. I waited until the sound of his footsteps lingered into the kitchen before sitting up to look around feeling as if I had just run away from a bear or something. My heart was going crazy but for some reason I couldn't stop grinning about it. What would he have done if he had caught me snooping around up there?

"Good morning Mel-chan~ you're up early!"

I looked up when Izaya spoke, no longer grinning to myself. "Morning." I had been brushing my fingers through my hair while he was in the kitchen. "I heard you walking by." I lied.

"Is that so?" As if he didn't even believe me, "well it's good that you are awake anyway." He had a steaming mug in his hand that I noticed when he had made his way over to his desk.

I watched him walk by also noticing that he was already dressed in a simple black long-sleeve shirt and black pants. "Why is that?" I asked, not bothering to get up.

"I have something for you to do." He replied with eyes fixed on his computer.

So he was already going to have me do some important work huh? I kept my eyes on him waiting for the task, imagining it to be something along the lines of going to some important people and exchanging information he tells me for their money… Though, I expected something like that to happen during the later hours of the day rather than in the morning.

"I need you to go and get me a new cell phone."

I felt my eye twitch.

Izaya looked over at me when I didn't respond, "you know the pre-paid ones that don't cost much." He decided to add, "The sooner you get it the better."

"That's it?" I stood up wondering if he was joking or not.

"Yes." He yawned again. "Feel free to explore or something, I won't be here if you come right back."

I walked over to his desk and held out my hand, "Fine." I didn't bother to question where he would be going or what time he would be back here later. "But I need money to buy the phone."

Izaya only chuckled softly, "you have money, use it."

"But-"

"But, nothing." He interrupted me then waved his hand at me, "You better get going… I'll see you later Mel-chan~"

I frowned at his mocking expression before turning away to go get ready. I was a bit grateful that he wasn't actually going to have me go to some strangers and ask for money or something… Instead, I was going to get _him_ a phone with _my_ money. Lovely.

It was around nine when I had left, and I had managed to make it to Ikebukuro by ten or so… I wasn't sure what store to go to, but I had visited many different ones to compare prices so that I wouldn't end up wasting all my money on something that wasn't even for me. After about the eighth or ninth store, I concluded that the cheapest prepaid phone to get would be one of bad quality… Oh well.

As boring as it sounds, the rest of my week with Izaya was much like that day, though, it wasn't every day that he sent me out on seemingly meaningless tasks. A few days out of the week I was stuck, having nothing to do, and the damn bastard would just leave without saying anything, it was almost like my reason for being here didn't even exist to him anymore and it was starting to get frustrating. It wasn't until today that he insisted that I go to Ikebukuro for something other than buying him stuff that I never see him use.

I walked into the living area, braiding my damp hair as I fell onto the couch, not even thinking about anything important when Izaya decided to say something worth listening to.

"I found something."

I looked over at him from where I was sitting, lifting a brow as I waited for him to continue.

"An ex-girlfriend!" His eyes were focused on his computer screen.

I frowned as I continued braiding my hair, "I don't want to know about any of your ex's."

He let out a laugh that would have scared me a week ago, but oddly enough I was starting to grow accustomed to his unusual behavior. "Oh?" Once he had settled down a decent amount he continued, "Would that subject bring up unwanted feelings for you?"

I caught on quickly but only scoffed at such a comment, "Impossible." I glanced over at the beaming man, "Besides, it wouldn't surprise me that any girlfriend you managed to get would become an ex eventually."

"You're not cute at all." Izaya faked a pout before clapping his hands together as if signifying that the conversation was over, "But this ex-girlfriend I found is no mine."

I held my tongue from making another rude comment about how creepy it was to find peoples' ex-girlfriends on the internet. "Then whose ex is it?"

"Oh, just a guy named Koizumi Léon."

My head perked up like a dog that had just heard the word "treat". I got to my feet and nearly skipped my over to his desk from the excitement tingling within my fingertips. "My brother had many girlfriends though." I said once I was at his desk, "What makes this one so special?"

My eyes scanned over his computer screen at the mugshot of a beaten woman, I then read the small description stating that she was arrested for assaulting a police officer in order to cause a distraction so that her criminal friends could get away blah blah blah.

"She was into the drug business with your dear brother and they were together for a much longer time than all the other girls, so I wouldn't doubt that she knows something useful hm?" He leaned his head against his hand and stared at my face as I continued to read.

"Is she still in jail?" I looked at him briefly before returning my gaze to the screen, not really reading anything more; it was mainly to avoid eye contact. Despite getting used to his antics and frustrating way of communication, I still haven't been able to hold his unsettling gaze while being close to him; at a reasonable distance? Sure.

"Nope!" He sat up straight and turned his screen off so that I would turn my attention back to him, "which is why we are going to go talk to her~" He stayed seated however, "But first…"

I was standing straight now and I folded my arms as I waited for his instructions; he was going to send me off yet again on another meaningless task which will drive me insane because now I know that someone useful is available for questioning.

"Oh c'mon Mel-chan~ Try to look at least a little happy." Izaya laughed softly while fiddling with a pen on his desk, "all I need you to do is go to Ikebukuro and deliver this envelope to this store." He pulled a simple white envelope from one of the drawers in his desk, and set a small paper on top of it with the store name on it.

I looked at the items with curiosity then looked at him as I place my hand on them, about to ask a question but he responded before I had the chance.

"No, you cannot look inside the envelope, and no the store is not a dangerous one unless you threaten someone of course." That mischievous look was painted all over his face but I still took the envelope and paper.

"And then what?"

"Wait around, I'll find you." Izaya replied simply, "And then~ we will go talk to Anna-chan."

I couldn't help but smile at the thought, "she might not supply me with anything good, but at least it's something." I turned on my heel and headed over to the couch to retrieve my shoes and jacket. Whatever information that woman knew, even if it had nothing to do with my brother's death, it would be useful. This past week felt un-motivating from the lack of activity dealing with my personal goals, so this one new thing felt like a boost of energy that I so greatly needed.

Once I was in Ikebukuro, I realized that finding the store was a bit more difficult than anticipated. The address was on the paper, but I still hadn't learned this place well enough to know exactly which streets to take. So, after asking for some directions from an occasional passerby, I finally found the store; a simple convenience store among many others that looked completely harmless.

I entered the building and looked around, expecting some shady characters lurking in the corners of the small building or in between the isles… But there were none. Instead, I saw an older man leaning against the front counter who was watching a small TV.

"Excuse me."

He turned and looked at me for a moment before dropping his gaze to the envelope that I had set on the counter. He slid the envelope closer and turned it around so that he could read the name scribbled on the front before looking back at me. "Wait here." He took the envelope and sauntered to the back of the store where I heard a door open then close.

As I waited, I examined the merchandise and my eyes landed on the mini fridge to my right. I squatted down and looked through the options before picking a drink out and set it on the counter. I continued to wait until I finally heard the door open and close again, so I began to dig through my pockets for some money.

"Ah! No need, it's free of charge." The man had returned with a big smile that had me wondering exactly what was in the envelope.

"Oh…" I grabbed the drink and returned a sheepish smile, "Thanks."

"No, thank you." He lifted his hand to wave, "have a very nice day now."

I nodded and hurried out with a familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach, a feeling of uneasiness that was the same as when I was around Izaya. When I stepped out, I shook off the feeling and opened my drink, about to make my way back to the apartment but seeing a black haired man talking on his cell phone reminded me that I had to stick around and wait on Izaya.

"Hmm…" I looked around and decided to browse the other stores just to keep my eyes and mind entertained for a while; no matter how many things I looked at, I couldn't get my mind off of my brother's ex. What does she know? Would she even be willing to share what she knew? Did she even… Love my brother? Did he love her? They were together for quite a while apparently…

When my feet began to feel cramped, I found a bench and sat down with my drink took a quick sip of what was left while looking around feeling like there was something familiar about this area… Wait…

"I found you~!"

Two hands grabbed my shoulders from behind and I jumped in response.

"Ha-ha! I knew I would find you here!" Izaya was either laughing at my reaction or at the fact that I ended up in the same park as a week ago on that day I met Shizu-chan... Probably both.

I stood up to face him as he walked around to stand in front of me. "Am I that predictable?" I was joking, but Izaya nodded so I quickly changed the subject. "The envelope is delivered."

He still had the same propitious expression on his face when I spoke, "good~" He reached over and patted me on the head. "I knew you could do something so simple." He narrowed his eyes, just waiting for my response the indirect insult to my dexterity.

"Easy as cake." I replied, not willing to let him get the best of me so easily. "Should we go find that woman now?"

"Straight to the point!" He laughed again then poked my forehead, "As to be expected from someone as devoted as you."

"It's not like we have anything else to do here." When I stood up he took a step to the side and wrapped an arm around my shoulders when I was about to walk passed him.

"There are many things to do here in Ikebukuro Mel-chan~" He spoke in a singsong voice, "You just have to know where to look." He then pointed with the hand resting on my shoulder, "like over there you can see a lovers' quarrel happening between two young individuals."

I looked at the people he was talking about and frowned slightly, "I didn't know you were into relationship drama Orihara-san." I didn't bother to hide my boredom.

Izaya sighed and slid his arm off my shoulder, "I'm into everything that has to do with humans."

_Here we go again.._. Many times he has preached to me about his love for the human race except for Shizu-chan, and for a while I couldn't figure out if he was joking or just plain crazy. Now I knew that he was quite serious about this love for humans, so I concluded that he was just_ plain crazy_, but I still couldn't figure out how or why he loved humans so much. What was so great about us that made him act like what some would call God; who supposedly loved everyone, much like how Izaya expressed his own feelings for humans, with the exception of Shizu-chan… Which had a question bubbling in my mind the moment that name entered my mind again.

"-Just seeing them in certain situations reveals the true identity of a person." He was still rambling about it.

"What if more people were like Shizu-chan? Would you give up on loving humans so much?" I decided to participate in the conversation this time, mostly out of my own brief curiosity.

"Of course not. That would just mean that I wouldn't love them as much as I love all the others." The tone of his voice dropped slightly, did this question strike a nerve already?

"What if I were like Shizu-chan?" I braved a look to see that he had stopped smiling. "You would hate me too, hm?" I stopped walking when he did and faced him, curious to know what he would say but… He had a look of irritation in his eyes contrasting with the sudden smile on his face.

"I suppose I would." He laughed and looked like he was about to start walking again, but stopped.

I opened my mouth to speak; the sound of Izaya's name being yelled filled in that moment of when I was going to talk and I turned my head to see the source of the noise even though I already knew. Izaya ducked down quickly as an object was swung at us; I didn't realize this until it was too late.

Everything went black.

There was a pair of feet walking towards me quietly before a soft patting could be felt by my side… As my consciousness began to return, I began to feel control over more parts of my body as the seconds ticked by; I tried to move my hand and my eyelids but they both felt heavy so I waited. Finally, I could open my eyes but I quickly closed them as pain spread along the left side of my face from just that small movement.

_ What is going on?_

I tried to ignore the sudden pain and attempted to open my eyes again; the pain returned but eventually it numbed down so that it wouldn't bother me too much anymore until the moment I blinked to clear my vision.

_ Why does my face hurt so much?_

I blinked again then looked to the left when I saw a blurry movement of black, not really able to make out what it was until I turned my head to see it… It…

I sat up quickly and pulled the bed sheets up as if they would protect me from what I was seeing; a headless body of a woman in a black bodysuit. I had to be dreaming! Even if I was and this wasn't even real, I still attempted to get off the white bed I was on and fell onto the floor breathing heavy. A pillow had fallen with me so I grabbed it and pushed myself away from the bed since it was the only thing separating me from that headless thing.

When the body lifted its hands up, I threw the pillow at it with all my power, but it was a far miss, not very effective at all. I watched as the body turned itself toward the door and someone else entered the room, he looked worried as he approached me.

"Hey, hey, it's alright! You don't need to be scared!"

He sounded nice, "Who are you? What is _that_?"

"My name is Kishitani Shinra, and that is Celty." He smiled at me kindly, "What is your name?"

I couldn't take my eyes off of the headless body named Celty but somehow I had replied to him. "Koizumi Méline."

"That's a nice name; do you know what had happened to you?"

That question caught my attention and I met his dark brown gaze. "Something happened?"

He nodded and pulled out a small flashlight, "Yes. Follow my finger please." He held up one finger and moved it while shining the light into my eyes; I winced as he did. "You were hit." He put the flashlight away in his coat pocket before taking hold of my wrist to feel my pulse while looking down at his watch,

"Hit?" I tried to recall memories from earlier but all I could remember was talking to some store clerk whose face I couldn't even see in my mind. "By what?"

Shinra smiled a bit and let go of my wrist. "Well… By a street sign." He gave a sigh of relief and placed a hand on my shoulder. "C'mon, I'll help you back into the bed."

_A street sign? Did I walk into it? _I let him help me to my feet and realized just how weak my body felt; as soon as I tried to take a step toward the bed I would've fallen down again if it weren't for Shinra's good hold of my arms. "Why can't I walk?"

"You have been asleep for the past few days and haven't eaten since the morning of the accident I'm assuming." He had let go of my arms once I was sitting safely on the bed. "You were hit pretty hard, but your vitals are good… You have some memory loss, but that's normal with head injuries."

As he spoke, I examined his lab coat, light blue polo, black pants and a matching black tie… Was he a doctor? His brown hair was kinda too messy for a doctor though… I frowned slightly.

"What's wrong?"

"Your hair is messy." I replied and heard a noise from behind so I turned to look and froze at who I saw.

Standing at the door was the blonde haired, bartender-suited, superhuman man himself; he wasn't wearing his shades, but being able to look directly into his eyes only scared me more. That moment brought back the memory of our first meeting, and then the next thing that hit me was a street sign. _He was the one who hit me!_

The moment before the sign had hit me came into my mind; I was standing there and Izaya had ducked down and I wasn't even aware of why he was doing that. My eyes first saw Shizu-chan's angry face, then the sign being hurled towards my face.

Again I tried to stand and took a step away from the bed only to fall forward but Shinra caught me in time. "G-get him away from me!" I could feel my body trembling and Shinra looked at Shizu-chan and Celty, whose body looked tense.

"Please step out." He said calmly and helped me back to the bed once they had left the room. "I'm sorry Koizumi-san, I didn't know he was going to show up. Please calm down, he didn't mean to hit you."

It was hard to calm down; too many things were going through my mind at once and my head began to hurt as I stared at the wall. "W-what is he doing here?" I demanded, turning my attention to Shinra.

"Well he's been stopping by everyday to see if your condition improved." He replied, "He feels really bad about what had happened."

I looked away again and motioned to get up but Shinra stopped me. "I want to leave."

"It would be best if you stay here for tonight." He replied quickly, "Since I'm not sure if you're well enough to be left alone yet. Unless you can contact your parents-"

"No." I replied quickly, "I have no one to contact." I then sighed and felt frustrated that I couldn't just escape this stressing situation.

"Then it would be for your safety that you stay here under my watch until you're healthy enough to be let out on your own again, you might not have symptoms now, but that doesn't mean that something won't happen later."

I felt like I was being lectured and I wanted him to just stop. I understood now, I couldn't be unsupervised and this fact irked me. "T-then can I at least eat something?" I didn't even try to cover up the annoyance in my voice.

Shinra smiled reassuringly and nodded, "Of course." He was about to walk away but I stopped him.

"I don't want to eat in here." This small room reminded me of home, and that was something that I didn't feel like remembering at the moment. "I want to eat at a table."

He looked to the side and rubbed the back of his neck before giving in. "Alright just let me help you."

So I let Shinra help me out of the room and through a hall until we entered a living area with couches and a coffee table. He helped me sit down on one of the couches, informing me that their dining table was currently damaged, he then told me to stay put while he made some food before leaving the room. I looked around feeling awkward for a moment, but once a minute passed of silence, I relaxed and decided to just try and be polite… He was helping me even though we had never even met and I was acting like a brat… How did I even get here anyway?

A noise from across the room grabbed my attention and I looked up; my body became tense as my eyes met the light brown stare of Shizu-chan who also froze in place when he noticed my presence.

After a brief moment he finally shifted on his feet and then looked away for a moment as if he were deciding if he should continue his path or leave the room. He didn't even look at me while he continued along his path and stopped beside the couch across from me; still avoiding my gaze, he frowned slightly then finally took a seat.

I couldn't help but watch his every move because to me he was a dangerous person who was capable of pulling street signs from the sidewalk. Despite this, he was also a person who still fascinated me yet scared me to the point of not even being able to open my mouth to say anything as he sat there keeping his eyes away from my face. What was going through his mind?

"I…" He started and for a moment I had forgotten how to breathe. "I wanted to apologize directly." He finally looked at me. "You weren't my target at that moment."

I was the one to look away this time and I searched through my mind for something to say in response but nothing came to mind. I wanted to be angry, but not too angry to make him angry, and I wanted to leave but I couldn't because my legs wouldn't comply with my feelings.

"If I could've stopped then I would've but it was too late and you didn't even move so… Hey are you even listening?"

I looked back at him and nodded my head quickly before taking a breath. "I'm sorry."

He looked confused, "Wait you shouldn't be the one saying that."

I nodded again and bit my lip anxiously, not looking at him anymore. "W-what is your name?" I wanted to change the subject.

It took him a moment, but he replied. "Heiwajima Shizuo." I heard him move on the couch, "and yours?"

I braved a look and saw that he hand leaned back and looked a bit more relaxed but he probably wasn't. "Koizumi Méline." I tried to make myself feel comfortable on the couch but failed to do so since every move I made felt like there were weights attached to my limbs. "I only knew you by what-" I stopped myself before saying Izaya's name because I knew that this guy truly disliked him. "By what that guy called you…" I tried to give the expression that I was struggling to recall that memory.

Shizuo frowned, "What were you doing around him in the first place?"

That question made me wonder if he remembered the week before when I had first seen him. "I don't… He was bothering me." I sort of lied, "I don't even remember what he was… Talking to me about." Which wasn't a lie; I really couldn't remember what we were talking about.

Shizuo watched me for a moment then looked over as Shinra entered the room and offered me a bowl with noodles. "This was the quickest and easiest thing to make at the moment and if you start to feel nauseous it won't hurt coming back out." There was a dumb smile on his face.

I took the bowl and stared down at it with disgust at the thought of throwing it back up then looked at Shinra as he offered me a fork to use as well. "Thanks."

Shinra then looked over at Shizuo and smiled, "You know Koizumi-san, Shizuo was the one who brought you here." He then looked at me probably trying to make me feel better about the situation.

I looked from Shinra to Shizuo who had an annoyed look on his face, "Oh… Then thank you Heiwa…"

"Heiwajima." Shinra helped me, "and if you haven't guessed already, I am an underground doctor." He seemed proud of that fact. "And I've known Shizuo since primary school and I've always been his choice when it comes to injuries." He looked over at Shizuo. "Like that time when you were…"

I stared off into space as Shizuo snapped back a response and Shinra laughed before lifting up his hands as if to surrender while giving an apology for whatever it was that he had said to annoy Shizuo. For a moment, I wanted to ask them about Izaya since Shizuo obviously knew him and it would make sense if Shinra knew him too especially if he were friends with Shizuo. The thing keeping me from doing so was Shizuo; I didn't want to anger him and I didn't know how they would react if I told I was staying with Izaya.

"Um… Koizumi-san?" Shinra touched my shoulder and I jumped slightly. "Sorry, but you should eat before your noodles get cold."

I gave a nervous smile and began poking at the noodles with my fork and glanced at Shizuo. Why did they hate each other so much? I wrapped some noodles around my fork and noticed how silence had enveloped us so I looked at Shinra. "What…" _How should I word this…? _"What is Celty?" I then took a bite of my noodles while he explained.

"Well she is what most call 'The Black Rider' around here, or as 'The Headless Rider'." He started and paused for a moment to pick out what to say next. "She is a Dullahan from Ireland, but ended up here in Japan because someone stole her head. No one is really sure how she is able to see, hear, or sense anything without a head… So it's like a mystery to all of us. Even me."

I nodded slowly, "I haven't been here long enough to hear of her so this is all new to me."

"How long have you been in the city?" Shinra asked.

"A week… Or maybe more than a week now…" I frowned slightly at the thought of those wasted days that I was unconscious.

"What brought you here?" He truly looked curious.

I put another forkful of noodles in my mouth to give me enough time to decide if I should tell the truth or lie. I swallowed and looked down at the bowl, "I'm… Looking for someone." It wasn't really a lie.

Shinra nodded slightly, "This is a big city and it's easy to get lost, but I'm sure you'll find that someone." He then looked over at Shizuo. "We have been here for so long; I think it would be impossible to get lost huh?"

I looked over at Shizuo and set my bowl on the coffee table since I was no longer hungry. He sighed in response as if he was annoyed with Shinra, but the doctor kept talking.

I kept my eyes on Shizuo, not paying attention to what Shinra was saying. To be honest, Shizuo had gentle eyes despite the angry looks I had seen him give during our first few encounters… At the moment, he seemed so unnaturally calm but I could still see the growing aggravation play on his features as he listened to the continuous rambling of the messy haired doctor. I then looked at the bowl on the coffee table, letting my eyes close when my lids began to grow heavy, waiting for the throbbing pain from the side of my face to subside before deciding that maybe I should just… Keep my eyes closed for a bit longer.

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**There! Hope you all liked it! Please review with your thoughts/opinions~**

**Thanks for reading! :'D**


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